World Trends in Education for Sustainable Development...support for the UN Decade on Education for Sustainable Development, address-ing the perceived need for internationally-oriented,

Walter Leal Filho (eds.)

World Trends in Education

for Sustainable Development

Internationaler Verlag der Wissenschaften

ISBN: 978-3-631-61956-8 On-line orders at: http://www.peterlang.de/index.cfm?cid=5

Table of Contents

Preface .................................................................................................................. 9

Chapter 1 Applied Sustainable Development: A Way Forward in Promoting

Sustainable Development in Higher Education Institutions Walter Leal Filho ........................................................................................... 11

Chapter 2 Applying the Richard E. Gross Problem-Solving Model:

Whistleblowing and the Environment, the Case of Avco Environmental Evangelos Manolas, Stilianos Tampakis ........................................................ 31

Chapter 3 Community Engagement in University of British Columbia’s Climate

Action Plan Jessica Glor-Bell, Amelia Clarke ................................................................... 39

Chapter 4 Making Education for Sustainability Work on your Campus:

The Roundtables on Environmental Systems and Sustainability Michael A. Reiter, Will J. Focht, Paul A. Barresi, Sue Bumpous, Richard C. Smardon, Kimberly D. Reiter ....................................................... 61

Chapter 5 Education for Sustainability Pedagogy: Ideological and Epistemological

Barriers and Drivers Michael Littledyke, Evangelos Manolas ......................................................... 77

Chapter 6 Integrated Theoretical and Practical MSc Education for Sustainable

Industrial Development Jurgis Staniskis, Valdas Arbaciauskas ......................................................... 105

6 Table of Contents

Chapter 7 Innovation, New Goals and Challenges for Italian Trends in Environmental

Education for Sustainable Development Eugenia Aloj, Mariagrazia De Castro, Anna Zollo, Michela Totàro ........... 115

Chapter 8 On-Campus Innovation for Sustainability: Evolution of Sustainable

Development on the Joondalup Campus, Edith Cowan University (ECU), Western Australia John Renner ................................................................................................. 127

Chapter 9 Accounting Education for Sustainable Development: A View from the

Profession Joanne Tingey-Holyoak, Roger L. Burritt .................................................... 149

Chapter 10 Engineers for More Sustainable Industrial Engineering

Luis Velazquez, Nora Munguia, Javier Esquer ............................................ 173

Chapter 11 Institutionalization of Learning-Beyond-Academics Leads to Sustainability

of Higher Education Institution in the Field of Engineering: A Case Study from India V.K. Gokuladas ............................................................................................ 185

Chapter 12 Sustainable Development, Bioenergy and Education:

Experiences in Collaboration and Communication for Promoting Environmentally Sustainable Biofuel Development Lisa Gualtieri, Patricia Hanney, Terry McIntyre, David Secko ................... 197

Chapter 13 Making Better Choices Today: Ethics, Technology and Sustainability

Peter H. Denton ........................................................................................... 219

Chapter 14 The Secret Garden: Geocaching Links the Classroom to the Campus

Jim Perry, Andy Jenks .................................................................................. 235

Table of Contents 7

Chapter 15 Greening the Waste Stream: A Case Study in Applied Environmental

Analysis at Pomona College Char Miller, Bowen Close ............................................................................ 251

Chapter 16 Students Collaborate to Develop Educational Green-Clothing Label

Hae Jin Gam, Yoon Jin Ma, Elizabeth Ciaccio ............................................ 265

Chapter 17 Classes that Change the World: Synergistic Solutions and Multiplier Effects

for Students, Campuses, and Communities Jennifer L. Wells ........................................................................................... 281

Chapter 18 A Survey of Sustainability Promotion Experiences: The Ipso Project

Jordi Garcia, Daniel Garcia, Francisco Esteban, Marta Pujadas, Francisco-Javier Navallas, Ramon Miralles ............................................... 295

Chapter 19 Sustainability and the Struggle for Hegemony in Australian Architectural

Education Peter Graham ............................................................................................... 311

Chapter 20 Evaluating Education for Sustainable Development Programs

Michaela Zint ............................................................................................... 329

Chapter 21 Making Environmental Connections in Courses in the Humanities and

Social Sciences Colleen Boyd, Sue Guillaud, Mai Kuha, Lisa Kuriscak, Melinda Messineo ........................................................................................ 349

Chapter 22 A Short-Term Experiential Study Abroad Course on Sustainability

in Costa Rica: Art as a Sustainability Case Study Adrienne R. Schwarte, Mark J. O’Gorman .................................................. 373

8 Table of Contents

Chapter 23 Transformative Sustainability Education in a Shipboard Living-Learning

Community Mark A. White, Daniel C. Abel, Amy W. Predmore ..................................... 387

Chapter 24 Understanding Communities of Practice in Online Education for

Sustainability Kristin McIlhenney, Meg Holden ................................................................. 407

Chapter 25 Preparing Teachers to Educate for Sustainable Development

Claudette L. Barrett...................................................................................... 425

About the Authors ............................................................................................. 441

Thematic Index ................................................................................................. 461

Preface

It is widely acknowledged that sustainable development is a long-term goal, which both individuals and institutions (and countries!) need to pursue. This important theme is characterized by an intrinsic complexity, since it encom-passes ecological or environmental considerations on the one hand, and eco-nomic matters, social influences and political frameworks on the other. This makes provisions in respect of education for sustainable development a particu-larly challenging task, but one which is feasible and achievable, provided the right elements are put into place.

This book is an attempt to foster the cause of education for sustainable devel-opment, by documenting and disseminating experiences from different parts of the world, where learning for, about and through the principles of sustainability is taking place, in various sets and contexts, in both industrialized and developing nations.

Sustainable development is not only about education. It is also about agricul-ture, transport, energy, climate change, consumption. Therefore, if we ever want education for sustainable development to succeed, we need to take these wide-ranging issues into account. Moreover, education for sustainable development is not only a matter for teachers in formal education.

It is far more than that. Real education for sustainable development can be practiced every day, be it in making one aware of how much water one consumes when turning on the water tap to brush one’s teeth in the morning, or to question the use of private transport in cities where public transport is widely available. It can be applied when we choose to buy a product from the supermarket – instead of using the local weekly market – and when we switch off the lights in the of-fice when we go home. Education for sustainable development is about educa-tion for sustainable living.

I would like to thank all authors for presenting their experience in their re-spective chapters, and their willingness to share their ideas. Much can be gained by providing a platform for the debate on education for sustainable development in a pragmatic way; by providing their inputs the authors have made a positive contribution towards a debate which needs to be present and reach a depth far beyond that which conferences, workshops or seminars may be able to offer.

10 Preface

A special feature of this book is that it not only presents a wide range of phi-losophies, approaches, methods and analyses with respect to education for sus-tainable development across the world, but also documents and disseminates concrete case studies, which show how education for sustainable development may be realized in practice. This book, which is volume 31 of the award-winning series “Environmental Education, Communication and Sustainability”, the world’s longest running book series on sustainability, is also a further means of support for the UN Decade on Education for Sustainable Development, address-ing the perceived need for internationally-oriented, forward-looking publications, which aim to advance the cause of education for sustainable development and its ultimate goal: a better world.

Prof. Walter Leal Filho (BSc, PhD, DSc, DL, DPhil, DL, DLitt, DEd, FRSA, FRGS, FIBiol, FLS) Summer 2011

Chapter 1

Applied Sustainable Development: A Way Forward in Promoting Sustainable Development in Higher

Education Institutions

Walter Leal Filho

Abstract

Purpose: Since the discussions on sustainable development are not new and there is at present a plethora of texts, declarations and resolutions paving the way for its further promotion, but with a limited degree of success, time is now ripe for the development of new approaches, methods and means to further the cause of sustainability in a higher education context, without being trapped in conceptual debates.

Design/Methodology/Approach: By means of an in-depth description of the concept of applied sustainability, and examples of a set of projects surrounding matters related to sustainable development, the paper shows how this can be achieved.

Findings: The paper illustrates how much higher education institutions can achieve by pursuing applied sustainable development initiatives.

Originality/value: This paper presents the principle of “applied sustainable de-velopment”, an action-oriented and practice-based approach, where principles of sustainable development are put into practice, leading to concrete outputs and tangible results.

Introduction: a brief overview of the evolution of the sustainability debate

Even though the origins of the term “sustainable development” or “sustainability” go back many decades and both terms have been used on an ad hoc basis, public perception about – and the international visibility of – sustainable development was substantially enhanced with the publication of “Our Common Future”, also

12 Walter Leal Filho

known as the “Brundtland Report” (WCED 1987). This publication reported on the deliberations of the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED), which was a body set up by the United Nations a few years earlier under the Chairmanship of Mrs Gro H. Brundtland (who at the time was Nor-way’s Prime Minister), with the mandate of investigating the links between envi-ronmental protection (a term which was already well-established) and develop-ment, and to suggest ways to combine both.

Subsequent to the publication of “Our Common Future” back in 1987, the United Nation’s General Assembly voted to run the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), under the chairmanship of Maurice Strong, a Canadian industrialist. The event was to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 1992.

There is no doubt in relation to the fact that since “Our Common Future”, sustainability has found its way through the UN system, government agencies, through enterprises and through institutions of higher education across the world. More importantly, the more modern views of sustainable development pledged by “Our Common Future” are not limited to ecological considerations. Rather, they have been – and are now – paying due attention to the economic, social and political variables which influence the process.

If one takes a step back to gain an overall view of the past trends, one can see that the conceptual evolution of sustainability has gone through three main phases:

Phase 1 (1987-1997): in this initial phase, under the influence of WCED, sus-tainable development was mostly regarded as a matter of concern to nations, as advocated by Agenda 21 (UN 1992) and as agreed by the Heads of States who attended the UNCED, held in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992.

Phase 2 (1998-2002): in this second phase, there was a noticeable change in the general perception of sustainable development, which has evolved from being something countries should be engaged with, towards a matter of concern to individuals and institu-tions. In phase 2, the World Summit on Sustainable Devel-opment (WSSD) held in Johannesburg in 2002 (also called Rio+10), it was seen that comparatively little progress had been made since UNCED held ten years earlier, and that many of the commitments and pledges made by many gov-ernments at UNCED, were yet to be realized.

Phase 3 (2003 to date): the current phase has been characterized by a new dynam-ic in the general perception of what sustainability is, with a wide assumption that not only governments, but also in-dividuals, institutions and even businesses – which until

Applied Sustainable Development 13

then had been largely excluded – need to commit to-wards sustainability. The fact that the United Nations declared the period 2005-2014 as the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (UNDESD) has provided some further impetus, albeit not to the extent that was originally expected. The forthcoming Rio+20 conference, to be held in Rio in 2012, will be likely to provide additional momentum to the current state of af-fairs and hopefully start a new phase, with a greater per-ception of what sustainability is, what it means and what it can achieve.

In terms of the higher education sector, the evolution of the debate on sustainable development over the past 15 years as a whole, and the discussion on sustainabil-ity at universities and colleges in particular, has been fairly well documented (e.g. Leal Filho 1998, 1999a, 1996b, 2010a, 2010b). This documentation has also covered areas such as sustainability in the curriculum (Creighton 1996; Svan-ström et al. 2008), in planning (Blowers 1993) or the broad field of policy (e.g. Selman 1996; Baker, Kansis, Richardson and Young 1997; Brown 1997). Over the past five years, much progress has also been seen and the achievements reached in respect of sustainability (Singh et al. 2009), and sustainability science (e.g. Kates et al. 2001), are visible.

Progress has also been seen in terms of the greening of the curriculum (Jab-bour 2010; Lourdel et al. 2005; Marshall and Harry 2006), in respect of envi-ronmental performance (Jiménez and Lorente 2001), and at the institutional level (e.g. Lozano-Garcia, Huisingh and Delgado-Fabián 2009).

Within the tertiary sector, there have been various landmarks in respect of the design of approaches and mechanisms to bring sustainability closer to higher education (Leal Filho 2010a). As stated by Leal Filho (2010b), this process has included the preparation of many important documents such as:

• Τhe Magna Charta of European Universities (1988), • The Talloires Declaration of University Presidents for a Sustainable Future

(1990), • The Halifax document “Creating a Common Future: an Action Plan for Uni-

versities” (1991) (Lester Pearson Institute for International Development 1992), • The “Urgent Appeal from the CRE” to the Preparatory Committee of UNCED

(1991), • The COPERNICUS “Universities Charter or Sustainable Development”

(1994),


• The Lüneburg Declaration on Higher Education for Sustainable Development (2001),

• The Ubuntu Declaration on Education and Science and Technology for Sus-tainable Development (2002),

• Graz Declaration on Committing Universities to Sustainable Development (2005),

• G8 University Summit Sapporo Sustainability Declaration (2008), • G8 University Summit: Statement of Action (2010).

With a few exceptions, such as the Ubuntu Declaration which has been pursued by a number of organisations since Johannesburg, the majority of the declara-tions, agreements and action plans have one thing in common: they have never been fully implemented. This is not a criticism of the process leading to their preparation, but of the failure to ensure their implementation. The experience from these agreements shows that it makes little sense to have a group of people agreeing on sets of procedures and actions, without having the means to ensure their implementation. Perhaps part of the problem lies in the fact that even though convincing examples which show the usefulness of a sustainability focus in higher education institutions exist, and are available, they have not been documented and disseminated as they should have been. As a result, there is now a certain degree of skepticism with respect to the preparation of new declarations or action plans, since the experiences from the past are not particularly positive.

Moreover, despite the various actions taken at international level, much has still to be done at the regional and local levels. Indeed, 24 years after “Our Common Future” was published, nearly 20 years after “Agenda 21” was pro-duced and 10 years after the world’s commitment towards sustainability was reiterated in the “Johannesburg Declaration”, the need for disseminating ap-proaches, methods, projects and initiatives aimed at fostering the cause of sus-tainable development is as pressing as ever before.

Defining applied sustainability

The experiences from the past show that new and innovative ways are needed to foster the cause of sustainable development at higher education institutions in a more concrete and, hence, in a more meaningful way. This is not to say that the future debate on sustainability needs to be “atheoretical”. A sound theoretical basis for sustainability is and will remain valuable, and is a pre-condition for the successful implementation of sustainability programmes. Having said that, there is a perceived need for a new, fresh look at the ways we handle sustainable de-


velopment at universities, since the time spent exclusively on discussions on defini-tions or conceptual elements without a focus on the “how” is likely to be wasted. It makes little sense to dwell further on issues which have been repeatedly dis-cussed and debated over years, and far more sense to look ahead and explore other means for the successful implementation of sustainability issues in higher education institutions.

This paper therefore puts forward the concept of applied sustainability, which can be defined as:

“An action-oriented and project-based approach, which use principles of sustainable develop-ment and applies them to real contexts and to real situations, yielding the benefits which can be expected when methods, approaches, processes and principles of sustainable development are put into practice.”

Applied sustainability differs from conventional approaches to the promotion of sustainable development in three main ways. Firstly, it is a practice-based ap-proach, which bears the long history of sustainability and its principles in mind, but which is also concerned with its applications in real situations. Secondly, applied sustainability uses the body of theoretical studies and discourses avail-able, but ensures they are put to use in specific, well defined contexts. Finally, applied sustainability is concerned with measurable, tangible results and not only with subjective issues such as raising awareness or consciousness, even though these elements are certainly part of the formula. Table 1 illustrates some of the many advantages of applied sustainability, as opposed to conventional ap-proaches towards handling sustainable development, as largely seen today.

Table 1: Advantages of applied sustainability

Applied sustainability Conventional approaches

Action oriented Theory biased

Emphasis on projects and practical experiences

Emphasis on discourses, general principles and epistemological considerations

Clearly defined objectives Generally formulated goals

Defined schedule and timetable Undefined time scales

Expected outputs listed No clear outputs defined

Precise financial basis No specific financial considerations

Well defined topics No topic definition or specific thematic focus

On the basis of the clear advantages offered by applied sustainability, the author defends the view that the application of applied sustainability can (and should) provide a badly needed impulse for the further development of sustainable de-


velopment, in both higher education institutions and beyond. This view is based on two main elements:

1. The theoretical debate on sustainable development tends to be repetitive, reusing old arguments and defending well-known positions, which do not really move it forward.

2. The main barriers to the wide dissemination of sustainability, be it lack of resources, lack of training, lack of time and – sometimes – lack of interest, are as significant as they were 25 years ago. It is unlikely they will ever be overcome by the current, “business as usual” model.

The strategic advantages of applied sustainability are:

•Its flexibility, since it offers a potential for wide use under various circums-tances and with a variety of groups and audiences,

•Its structure, which caters for outcome-based results, which are measurable and achievable,

•It allows and encourages engagement in pursuing the targets set, •It caters for a constant monitoring and assessment of the extent to which the

expected outputs and results have been achieved, allowing timely action when-ever this is not the case.

Operationally, the fundament for the implementation of “applied sustainable de-velopment”, as a new way of thinking and as a new approach towards fostering the cause of sustainable development, is relatively easy: it requires good – however simple – and innovative ideas, which can be implemented by means of projects. A project approach here is vital, since it allows a clear overview of the tasks do be done, within a given time schedule, with clearly established outputs and a clear indication of the costs. The latter is probably one of the greatest problems encoun-tered by sustainability efforts in higher education institutions: the limited (or lack of!) ability to quantify real costs and to properly budget initiatives in a way that ensures the financial resources needed to perform the work envisaged are available.

Applied Sustainability: examples from projects

Having defined and outlined the scope of applied sustainable development, it is important to provide clear indications of how it may work under real conditions. In order to provide a clear view of the feasibility of applied sustainability, this section presents a number of initiatives undertaken by the Research and Transfer Centre “Applications of Life Sciences” (FTZ-ALS) at the Hamburg University of Applied Sciences in Hamburg, Germany.


Since its foundation in August 2007, the FTZ-ALS has been a world-class provider of information, education and training on matters related to sustainable development. The title of the Centre, which reflects its orientation to the life sciences field, is intended to outline its practice-oriented basis. The FTZ-ALS is a living laboratory, where many innovative and ground-breaking ideas related to sustainable development are tested and implemented. Some of these ideas have been:

a) The creation of the world’s longest running book series on sustainability, titled “Environmental Education, Communication and Sustainable Development” with Peter Lang Scientific Publishers. With over 30 volumes, this series has produced ground-breaking books such as “Sustainability and University Life”, “Hand-book of Sustainability Research” or “Communicating Sustainability”, among many others. Over 300 authors from all over the world have contributed to it.

b) The creation of the International Journal of Sustainable Development in Higher Education, the world’s only journal focusing on sustainable development in in-stitutions of higher education. Since its foundation in the year 2000, IJSHE has made its way through rankings and is a top journal in the field.

c) The creation of the first “World Sustainable Development Teach-In Day” (the second one is planned for 2012), the aims of which are: • Τo disseminate information on the concept, aims and purposes of sustain-

able development in a way that allows a broad understanding of the con-cept, including elements related to its environmental, social, economic and policy aspects,

• Τo raise awareness among university students of the complexity of mat-ters related to sustainable development and the need for personal engage-ment and action,

• To provide an opportunity to introduce projects and other sustainable de-velopment initiatives being undertaken at the international but also at the regional and local level by schools, universities, government bodies, NGOs and other stakeholders,

• To discuss the problems, barriers, challenges, and chances and potentials related to implementing sustainable development, globally but also at the regional and local levels.

Last but not least, the “World Sustainable Development Teach-In Day” was intended to encourage more networking and information exchange among partic-ipants and hopefully catalyze cooperation initiatives and possibly new projects.

A further achievement of FTZ-ALS, which has a project portfolio in excess of US$ 15 million – making it one of the largest sustainability centers in the world – and over a dozen PhD students, is the organization and/or co-organization of a


number of sustainability events across Europe and in other parts of the world, making participants more deeply aware of the complexity of matters related to sustainable development, and the need to foster greater knowledge and skills among various groups in society.

Some of the projects undertaken by FTZ-ALS which are examples of applied sustainability are as follows.

Project 1: INSPIRE

The EU-project “Inspire School Education by Non-formal Learning“ (INSPIRE) was prepared to foster information and learning on renewable energy and climate change. The vision of the project INSPIRE is to improve the quality and attrac-tiveness of in-service teacher training by using extracurricular contexts and new learning places. INSPIRE was a project funded by the European Commission’s Lifelong Learning Programme (2007) by means of the COMENIUS Multilateral Projects budget line. The project’s initial period was from November 2007 to October 2009. The main objective of the INSPIRE project was to create syner-gies and links between out-of-school places of learning and curricular learning, thus improving the knowledge base of European pupils on matters related to educa-tion for sustainable development. In addition, it aimed at preparing a set of materials to support teacher training on renewable energy and climate issues, as well as to test such materials with a view to subsequent use in support of sustainability education.

INSPIRE’s goals were therefore very much in line with the objectives of the UN Decade of Education for Sustainable Development. The project partnership in Germany, Latvia and Poland developed approaches, methods and materials which may be used in other countries in Europe and beyond. The results achieved with INSPIRE were as follows:

• 4 Project reports, • Documentation and dissemination of the results of literature study and expert

interviews, • A list of out-of-school learning places and best practice examples, • Manuals and lecture notes for training courses to be used by teachers, • A manual for the project partners, • A handbook on “Renewable Energy in Out-of-school Learning Places”.

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23

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24

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grate the use of renewables as a source of electrical energy. These grids are to be developed in rural areas in particular. In addition, extensive baseline studies will be carried out, as will scenario building with regards to renewable electricity generation, which will include political, technological and socioeconomic as-pects. Different awareness-raising activities and practical support will be given to further planning and design of policy frameworks. Furthermore, feasibility studies of infrastructure projects are planned, which will eventually lead to an increased use of clean energy technologies. Finally, REGSA will give direct support via a feasibility study involving three pilot communities, facilitating regional dialogue and capacity building which can subsequently be used as best practice models for other regions in South America.

Project 7: CELA

Latin America is not only a region experiencing the degradation of many important ecosystems, and where the quest for sustainable development is particularly impor-tant, but it also among the most vulnerable regions in the world in respect of the impacts of climate variation, climate change and extreme events. The ALFA III Project “Network of Climate Change Technology Transfer Centres in Europe and Latin America“ (CELA – http://www.cela-project.net/) was initiated by FTZ-ALS in order to investigate the extent to which vulnerability and risks are present in Latin America, and at the same time introduce and disseminate experiences on adaptation to climate change in the region. CELA is a project which promotes joint research collaboration and exchanges of experiences between universities in Europe and Latin America in the field of climate change, and aims to:

a) improve the quality of research and technology transfer in the field of climate change in Latin American universities,

b) strengthen the role of higher education institutions in Latin America in sus-tainable socio-economic development by bearing in mind the socio-economic impacts of climate change,

c) foster research and technology transfer cooperation in the field of climate change between higher education institutions in Latin America and Europe.

The rationale behind the project is the fact that mitigation of, and adaptation to, climate change are of vital importance for the sustainable socio-economic devel-opment of Latin America. The CELA project partners are:

• HAW Hamburg (Coordination), Germany, • Catholic University of Bolivia, Bolivia, • Galileo University, Guatemala,

26

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27

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change adaptation strategies. It comprises research-oriented activities for know-ledge and technology creation, and development-oriented activities for information sharing and capacity building. Bearing in mind that rainfed agriculture is vital for food security and yet stagnating in sub-Saharan Africa, and that current and future climate-induced risk poses an added constraint to adoption of innovation, the CALESA project will provide a concrete contribution towards alleviating the impacts of climate change and how this can be addressed vis-a-vis a sustainable agricultural development, which takes into consideration the needs of the poor and vulnerable.

Conclusions

As this paper has tried to demonstrate, much can be gained by using an applied dimension to sustainability as a whole and in education for sustainable develop-ment in particular. This is not to say that current approaches are not efficient (even though many of them are not!), but the message is that applied sustainabili-ty as a method, a strategy and as a way of thinking, allows a better understanding of the implications of sustainability principles, and smoother implementation of them into practice.

The examples outlined in this paper show how much can be achieved by adopting a pragmatic approach, as defended by applied sustainability, via which the various inconsistencies and ambivalences seen in connecting the theory and practice of sustainability – which have been common in the past – may be avoided. Applied sustainability can not only foster sustainability learning in specific contexts, but also guide future decisions where social, economic and ecological aspects may come hand in hand.

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Documents

World Trends in Education for Sustainable Development...support for the UN Decade on Education for Sustainable Development, address-ing the perceived need for internationally-oriented,